In a world of fleeting libations trends, here are 5 examples of cocktails ahead of the curve and properties looking forward at what’s to come.
1. Signature twists on the classics
At the Milestone Hotel in Kensington, London, signature cocktails drive sales, says Angelo Le Greco, senior bar manager: “Guests always like to try something new, and they always come back for more.” These signature cocktails are simple twists on classics, made with homemade syrups and mixers. One very popular drink is the Duchess Hourglass, a local twist on the negroni that swaps out vermouth with Dubonnet. “The ingredients of the Duchess Hourglass are strictly connected to the royal family traditions: Beefeater London Dry Gin, Dubonnet – the queen’s favorite aperitif – and Campari stirred with fresh muddled raspberries and strained over a crystal ice ball, finished with coffee and cloves aroma,” says Noli Alngohuro, bar and lounge manager. “Having a signature cocktail can be a reason for your guest to try new experiences. Often, there is a story behind such a drink and its creation, and this makes it more interesting and helps to drive sales by talking to guest about it and using social media.”
2. Vodka with a local twist
The Cavalier Hotel, a Gold Key PHR property and Marriott Autograph Collection member in Virginia Beach, Virginia, just became the first hotel in the United States with an on-site distillery that produces three kinds of whiskey and vodka. A plan to distill gin is in the works, and guests can distill and barrel their own batch of whiskey. When Andrew Yancey and Josh Canada proposed opening the Tarnished Truth distillery in the hotel to CEO Bruce Thompson, they envisioned focusing on whiskey, a spirit distilled in Virginia since the 17th century – but Thompson insisted on including vodka, the biggest seller, as well. “If you go into a liquor store, there’s more vodka than anything else so it’s hard to compete in that realm,” Yancey says, “but if we’re doing local stuff, we might as well do everything we can. ”The biggest-selling vodka cocktail is Float Like a Butterfly, served in a tall Collins glass with a cucumber wrapping the interior. It’s made with mint, lemon, simple syrup and chamomile bitters.
3. Mocktails made memorable
Having good mocktails might not have a direct impact on sales, but they do impact the bottom line, says Mike Ryan, director of bars at IHG’s Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. “You might not sell a ton of them, but they end up driving some incidental traffic,” he says. “If you’re going to succeed as a restaurant in the 21st century, you have to be hospitable and flexible.” Mocktails allow someone who is not drinking to still enjoy the social aspects of drinking and the experience of being in a bar. “People who are looking for this get very excited when they see options on menus or even having a separate (non-alcoholic) menu,” Ryan says. One such drink is the Mint Fizz at the Ave, at Kimpton’s Seafire Resort & Spa on Grand Cayman Island: Fresh mint and lime juice are muddled together with a light, white soda – a refreshing mocktail twist on the classic mojito. Ave also serves up a non-alcoholic version of the pina colada made with fresh pineapple and cream of coconut.
4. The sweet side
Tropical drinks that are shaken or stirred to a perfect balance of sweet are a hallmark of the Trader Vic’s brand, which just opened up its 19th international location at the Hilton Dubai Jumeirah. “It still has all the elements of every Trader Vic’s around the world, but it has a little more modern flair to it, which people have been really receptive to,” says Rhett Rosen, executive vice president of Trader Vic’s. Each location features a signature cocktail only available there; in Dubai, it’s the Koana Puffer, a sweet yet potent concoction in which gin is combined with pineapple and lemon juices, passionfruit syrup and mai tai concentrate. It’s finished off with a “stinger” or tear dropper of 151 proof rum. But the sweet sips that the brand is known for, like the mai tai, invented by founder Vic Bergeron, is always exactly the same. “We’re really strict about who we partner with, and we’re really meticulous about the brand,” Rosen says. “We’ve had to close some locations that were making money, but they were serving the wrong food or doing our mai tais wrong.”
5. (Comfort)F & (Stylized)B
New York City’s PDT (Please Don’t Tell) Bar is one of the most renowned cocktail bars in the world, a modern speakeasy entered through an old-fashioned phone booth at the back of a hotdog joint, but a successful pop-up two years ago in Hong Kong led the bar’s founder to partner and open a second location at the Landmark Mandarin Oriental in Hong Kong.The 30-seat PDT HK serves up highly stylized cocktails served alongside its signature comfort foods (think tater tots and hot dogs – either wrapped in bacon and served with kimchi or fried with shrimp and mayo). The drinks are a mix of PDT classics and new Hong Kong exclusives like Big Fan, a beer cocktail made with tequila, lime juice, pink peppercorns, guava and Moonzen Fuijan radler; Bad Hunter, a twist on a John Collins made with Chivas-blended scotch, Fernet Hunter, lemon juice, dragon eye and Champagne; and the Milky Tea, an egg-based drink with rum, cognac, tea, condensed milk and bitters.
Contributed by Jeanette Hurt